NASA scientists recreate Mars 'spiders' on Earth for first time

NASA scientists have successfully replicated spider-like shapes found on the surface of Mars in a laboratory setting for the first time.

NASA scientists have successfully replicated spider-like shapes found on the surface of Mars in a laboratory setting for the first time.

The planetary phenomenon known as "spiders" — scientifically referred to as "araneiform terrain" — is unique to Mars and created by processes involving carbon dioxide ice.

Researchers' findings, published in The Planetary Science Journal, reveal the experiment to recreate those "spider" formations in simulated Martian temperatures and air pressure.

Mars spiders are landforms found primarily in the planet's south polar regions. They consist of branched, circular spots on the surface resembling spider legs that can stretch more than one kilometre.

In the study, scientists say when the planet's carbon dioxide ice caps begin to sublimate — transition directly from solid to gas — pressure builds up beneath the surface and bursts through to create these radial patterns.

This process, described as the Kieffer model, is unique to Mars due to the planet's thin atmosphere and cold temperatures.

To better understand how these spiders form, NASA scientists conducted lab experiments simulating the conditions found on Mars.